Global stock markets weakened overnight on further evidence that interest rates might stay higher for longer. Oil hit its highest price since October last year on fears around global supply, and Australian house prices continue their march upward.
In our bonus deep dive interview, ANZ Head of G3 Economics Brian Martin says the the Fed and the ECB won’t want real interest rates to rise as inflation falls.
5 things to know:
Global stocks fell overnight as strong US data led traders to reassess the pace and number of Fed rate cuts this year.
Australian house prices continued to rise in March. CoreLogic data showed a 0.6% lift in the month to take prices 9.7% above where they were a year ago. ANZ Senior Economist Blair Chapman says prices are being led by strength in Perth and Adelaide.
The Reserve Bank of Australia board did not discuss the option of a rate hike for the first time since early 2023 when it met last month, yesterday’s minutes show. ANZ Senior Economist Catherine Birch says despite that, the board maintained a mild hawkish bias, with ongoing concerns around sticky services inflation and productivity growth.
The pace of decline in the ANZ-Indeed monthly Job-Ads survey in Australia slowed to 1% in March. While ads are down 10.6% from a year ago, they’re still a third higher than pre-COVID.
Annual CPI inflation in Korea remained steady at 3.1% in March, a touch ahead of expectations. ANZ Economist Krystal Tan says core inflation eased to 2.4% and looks set to settle around the 2% mark in the second half of the year.
Cheers
Bernard
PS: Catch you tomorrow with a look at inflation rates across Asian economies, and what that means for rate cuts.
